Turkey-backed Syrian rebels advance closer to IS-held Dabiq

BEIRUT Syrian rebels advanced closer to an Islamic State-held village that is of great symbolic significance to the group in a Turkey-backed operation in northern Syria on Wednesday, a rebel commander told Reuters.

The rebels captured the village of Duweibiq, which is some 2 km from Dabiq - the site of an apocalyptic prophesy central to the militant group's ideology. "The clashes were not very fierce but there is resistance," the commander said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based organisation that reports on the war, also confirmed the capture of Duweibiq.

(Reporting by Tom Perry; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

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